Radiological threat

This report reflects the commitment of the U.S. scientific, engineering, and
health communities to help our country respond to the challenges made evident
by September 11. It is a contribution from the National Academies—the National
Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, Institute of Medicine,
and National Research Council—which initiated this critical effort and paid
for it. But this report is also a contribution to the nation from many distinguished
individuals, each of whom dedicated a great deal of time to the production of the
report.

Since its inception, the CERT® Coordination Center (CERT/CC) has had a strong commitment
to transition lessons learned about computer security incident handling to the broader
Internet community. The ultimate goal of this transition work is the development of a community
equipped to recognize, prevent, and effectively respond to computer security risks
and threats against their organizations.

In our modern world, where international travel is common
and rapid, a disease can spread around the globe very quickly.
On an international level, the World Health Organization (WHO)
has developed and monitored International Health Regulations
(with origins in the mid-19th century) to help prevent
epidemics from spreading worldwide. The regulations are
being revised to address bioterrorism as well as chemical and
radiological threats.

This volume broadens the scope of Trauma and Disaster: The Structure of Human
Chaos to include an expanded focus on a special type of disaster, terrorism. Terrorism
seeks to achieve political, ideological, or theological goals through a threat or
action that creates extreme fear or horror.Many believe that terrorism (and torture)
produce the highest rates of psychiatric sequelae amongst all types of disasters.

Even before the events of September 11, 2001, threat assessments suggested that the United States should prepare to respond to terrorist attacks inside its borders. This report documents research into the use of military medical assets to support civil authorities in the aftermath of a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, or conventional high expl